The transit of Venus, where the planet passes between the sun and earth, will start just after 10pm tonight in the UK and will not happen again until the year 2117

Stargazers around the world are watching the skies for an astronomical event that will not be repeated in our lifetimes.

For six hours and 40 minutes from 10pm tonight (UK time), the planet Venus is passing in front of the sun between the Earth.

Earth's second nearest neighbour will not significantly block the sun's light, but it will give our closest star a moving beauty mark.

The transit of Venus, will be most visibile in the UK at around 4am, and will not occur again until 2117.

You can watch NASA's live broadcast of the spectacular event now by clicking play below.

What stargazers can see and for how long depends on what the sun is doing in their region.

Those in most areas of North and Central America will see the start of the transit until the sun sets, while those in Western Asia, the eastern half of Africa and most of Europe will catch the transit’s end once the sun comes up.

Hawaii, Alaska, eastern Australia and eastern Asia including Japan, North and South Korea and eastern China will get the whole show since the entire transit will happen during daylight in those regions.

Stargazers are advised not to stare directly at the sun without eclipse glasses, a properly filtered telescope or a strong welding visor. Permanent eye damage could result.

Astronomers across the globe are using the rarity of the moment to spark scientific curiosity among the public, and to document the transit with the latest technology available.

This will be the seventh transit visible since German astronomer Johannes Kepler first predicted the phenomenon in the 17th century.

Because of the shape and speed of Venus’ orbit around the sun and its relationship to Earth’s annual trip, transits occur in pairs separated by more than a century.

It is nowhere near as dramatic and awe-inspiring as a total solar eclipse, which sweeps a shadow across the Earth, but there will be six more of those this decade.